Vail Associates President Fights Highway Department Over I-70 Land Prices

Aspen —Pete Seibert called it a "little game." He didn't like the price. He didn't trust the negotiator.

On July 28, 1966, Vail Associates president Seibert accused the Colorado State Highway Department of bad faith. The department wanted his land for Interstate 70 in the Gore Creek Valley. They offered $2,400 an acre for 82 acres.

Seibert said that price was insulting. Leonard Hall, the Highway Department’s negotiator from Grand Junction, made an offer so low he seemed "embarrassed and uneasy."

The state offered $10,000 an acre to a landowner just 1.5 miles west of Vail. Seibert pointed out that the property in question sat in the town’s commercial core. Land sales there had hit at least $40,000 an acre. Prime spots ran over $200,000 per acre.

The most flagrant disregard occurred near the Vail Village Inn. Plans called for a 120-unit Holiday Inn there. The agreed price for that site was $180,000 for slightly less than three acres. The Highway Department offered only $11,000 for the three highway frontage acres right across from it.

Seibert noted the discrepancy clearly. The state was undervaluing the core while overpaying for fringe land. He made no mistake about where the money was going.

This dispute happened 60 years ago, but it anchors a longer history of this valley’s growth.

Look back 80 years to July 26, 1946. The Eagle Valley Enterprise reported three children in Eagle had tested positive for polio. Three more cases appeared in neighboring Routt and Garfield counties.

The Eagle Town Board met in special session that Wednesday evening. They needed a plan to stop the spread. The source of the germ was unknown, but the threat was real.

The Board passed an ordinance. Every resident within town limits had to keep their property clean. Failure meant a fine.

Residents were told to place garbage in containers separate from ashes. The Board of Trustees arranged for hauling away garbage and spraying alleys and city dumps. They asked each person to burn their own garbage daily.

They warned against unnecessary crowds. Do not wade or swim in the river, streams, or lakes. Keep children out of city ditches; the water was contaminated.

Gargle twice daily with hydrogen peroxide or ST 37. Use only pasteurized milk, or boil it before using.

Fast forward 20 years to July 30, 1926. The store of E. E. Glenn & Company in Eagle was robbed.

The theft marked a shift in the local economy. It wasn't just about farming and mining anymore. Commerce was moving into the valley floor.

Seibert’s fight over I-70 right-of-way wasn't an isolated incident. It was part of a steady climb in land values and complexity. The Highway Department tried to buy cheap. Seibert forced them to pay for what was actually there.

The gap between $2,400 and $180,000 for three acres nearby tells the story. That’s the difference between seeing land as dirt and seeing it as a destination.

Neighbors watching their property taxes rise today should remember 1966. The state still tries to negotiate hard. They still try to save a buck.

The short version: Seibert won the argument, even if he lost some ground to concrete. The road got built. The value went up.

The polio scare in 1946 taught us to keep our garbage contained and our children out of the ditches. The robbery in 1926 showed us that stores were worth robbing.

The road to Vail was paved with these small, stubborn facts.